Survey of beneficiaries for affordable housing begins in Goa

The survey, which is likely to be completed by the end of November, will help the state government and the urban local bodies (ULBs) to identify the right strategy for affordable housing projects in the stateTNN | October 09, 2017, 15:00 IST

PANAJI: The state department of municipal administration has commissioned the Regional Center for Urban and Environmental Studies (RCUES) to undertake a demand survey and identify families living in municipal areas who are in need for affordable housing.

The survey, which is likely to be completed by the end of November, will help the state government and the urban local bodies (ULBs) to identify the right strategy for affordable housing projects in the state.

“The process to identify beneficiaries and undertake an assessment for group housing in the state began towards the end of July,” director for urban development and municipal administration, J Ashok Kumar said.

The demand survey will bring out a list of potential beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) – Urban scheme. The data will be collated according to each municipal area and in the corporation of the city of Panaji limits, and will then be sent as a proposal to the union ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation for approval.

“The surveyors will be meeting the chief officers and chairpersons of each municipality and they will be seeking applications from eligible residents in those areas,” Kumar said.

The Union ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation had sanctioned a total of Rs 71.36 lakh for the formation of the state level technical cell (SLTC) and Housing For All Plan of Action (HFAPoA) in Goa. The action plan will focus on affordable housing and on-site rehabilitation of existing slum dwellers in 14 municipal areas.

“The state is in the process of constituting the technical cell. We have already taken approval of the state government and now we will invite applications, and by end of November, the technical committee should be in place,” Kumar said.

The total amount permitted by the union government under PMAY to setup the SLTC in Goa stands at Rs 21.6 lakh. Out of this, the union ministry has promised to contribute Rs 16.20 lakh for forming the cell in Goa, while the balance will be contributed by the Goa government. The centre has already released the first installment of Rs 8.10 lakh in early June, a government official said. The union ministry would release the second tranche of funds after Goa submitted the expenditure receipts and details of the experts hired for the SLTC.

As per the union ministry’s guidelines, the SLTC will comprise 10 professionals, including urban planners, environmental specialists, urban infrastructure specialists and public private partnership specialists who will plan and implement the PMAY mission in Goa.

The central government has launched the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana – Housing for All mission which promotes subsidy for poor to build homes, construction of affordable housing through partnership with public and private sectors, and subsidy for individual house construction.